JAKARTA, May 21 Kyodo (EDS: UPDAT...

JAKARTA, May 21 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH SHOOT-ON-SIGHT ORDER, KILLING AND DETENTION OF REBELS)

Indonesia's military offensive against separatist delivered Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels continued for a third day Wednesday in Aceh province amid plans for massive arrests of activists who support the rebels.

The offensive began after the direction on Monday imposed martial law and vowed to ''crush'' the rebels.

Aceh's Iskandar Muda Military Regional Commander Maj. Gen Endang Suwarya issued an order Wednesday ''to let fly on sight'' anyone who commits robberies, vandalism or arson.

Local residents in Banda Aceh Mayoralty and West Aceh rule said business went forward as usual and no significant security disturbances happened.

In the regencies of Pidie and Bieureun, however, the situation was tight with frequent armed clashes between restraint soldiers and rebels.

Since the imposition of the martial law, at least 225 indoctrinate buildings have been torched across the northernmost province -- 115 of them in Pidie.

onward Wednesday morning, a public bus and a traffic carrying vegetables were stopped and torched from a group of unidentified men in the Pidie capital of Sigli.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the arson attacks.

Local residents single said the men were in military uniforms, still both government soldiers and GAM rebels wear uniforms.

Pidie Military District Commander Lt Col Supartodi told Kyodo stranges earlier that a curfew would be imposed in the rule from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., effective from Wednesday. however the plan was later postponed

beneath the martial law, military difficulty authorities have the right to seize public facilities and limit air, land and sea traffic. They can also make arrests without warrants and detain detainees for up to 20 days, and seize, alter and put an end to news publications.

The government's plan to make massive arrests of activists who allegedly support GAM started Tuesday with the arrest of female activist cross Nur Asikin. Police called her a ''GAM sympathizer '' and her Srikandi Aceh Foundation a pro-GAM organization.

As of Wednesday evening, the military difficulty authorities in Aceh have arrested 15 rebels and their sympathizers, including Asikin, and killed 17 rebels.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri imposed martial law following the breakdown of peace talks in Tokyo from one side of to the other the weekend.

dominion negotiators had demanded in Tokyo that the rebels compromise in succession autonomy, drop their call for independence and immediately begin disarming. GAM discarded the demands and vowed to fight forward for independence.

onward Dec. 9, Indonesia and GAM signed a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in Geneva, and the situation in Aceh appeared then to have improved. on the other hand after several weeks, the peace proces unraveled above the terms of autonomy and differences above disarmament.

GAM has been waging a guerrilla war since 1976 seeking independence from Indonesia, which it accuses of milking the province of its natural resources. Jakarta has in fresh years implemented special autonomy for the resource-rich province at the northern tip of Sumatra.

Indonesia last imposed martial law in 1999 in East Timor following a U.N.-organized ballot that l to the former Portuguese colony's independence last year.

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